mccarty



Feb. 21, 1961 D. R. MCCARTY APPARATUS FOR COLORING PAINT 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed May 8, 1958 V oo00o0ooo00oo0o0| 0000 000000000000 oooooooooooooooo FEB 7 GTE) INVENTOR. DAN/EL R. M-CARTV ATTOP/VEZS D; R. MCCARTY APPARATUS FOR COLORING PAINT Feb. 21, 1961 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed May 8, 1958 430w- \L /i 3 N O O O O O C O O O O O O O INVENTORY. DAN/EL R. M CARTY BY 37b 2,972,435 APPARATUS FOR coronmo PAINT Daniel R. McCarty, Santa Cruz, Calif., assignor to Universal Color Corporation, Oakland, Calif., a corporation of California Filed ay s, 1958, Ser. No. 733,888

4 Claims. or. 222-309) This invention relates to a-method and apparatus for compounding paint in general. More-specifically this invention relates to a method and apparatus for selecting and measuring paintjcoloring or tinting materials to be mixed with definite quantities of base paint. v

An object of this invention is to' provide a method ofrcompounding paints of difie'rent colors in which different coloring agents may be accurately measured-at ditferent stations in accordance with predetermined data and provided to a base paint to compound a paint-of any one of a series of predetermined colors.

Another object of this invention is to provide an improved apparatus for accurate volumetric measuring and t tesfPa in l of Figure. 2;

dispensing coloring agents to be mixed with a base paint Another object of this invention-is toprovide an ap- I paratus for'dispensing paint colorants, said apparatus being adapted to dispense M Part of an ounce or any multiple thereof. i

Still another obj ct of this invention istoprovidean improved apparatus of simple design. and relatively in- V expensive nature that is easy to operate and that accu rately measures the volumeof tinting orcoloring' agents to be used in compounding paints of different colors.

Other and further objects of this invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art towhich it lrelates fromj the" following specification, claims and. drawing. ln accordance with this invention'there is provided a method and'apparatus for, accurately; measuring the volume ,oftintingor coloring liquids whereby a'paint' dealermay employ this'invention'to compoundpaints' of anyone of' a multiplicity of;different'f colorswithouthaving to use coloring agents that are packaged'in'small tubes; jars and; the like wi th which accurate ,tinting is' difficult "By'sto cking a quantity of white base paint material andaseries of coloring agents' tliatsmay peace Y s 2,972,435 Patented Feb. 21, 1961- t ce of paint coloring material therefrom in an accurate manner. Each container of coloring material is provided with one of these devices and each device is manually adjusted in accordance with the'aforesaid chart so that a person compounding paints of differentcoIors may adjust the different devices whereby the desired coloring materials are accurately dispensed to provide dilferent quantities of the desired color paint.

Further details andfeatures of this invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art to which it relates from the following specification, claims and drawing in which briefly:

Figure 1' is a schematic diagram showing a plurality of paint coloring stations provided in accordance with this invention;- Y

Figure 2 is a plan view of one of the volumetric measuring devices attached to a container;

. Figure 3. is a side'view of the device shownv in FigureZ; V f

. Figure l is a'sectional view taken along the line 4-4 Figure 5 is a sectional view taken: along the line 55 ofFigure 4 showing thefv'o'lum'etric measuring device with its inlet open to receive fluid colora ntg Figure 6 is asectional view similar to Figure 5 showing the outlet of the measuring device open; J p

Figure 7 is a plan view of the perforated control plate employed on this'jmeasuring device;

Figure 8 is a perspective view of the internal sleeve employed in this device; and

Figure '9' is an enlarged view of the outletsot the measuring device;

' In'the drawing thereis shown an embodiment of this invention employing a plurality of colortinting stations as shown in Figure 1 having the containers lll llla, 10b, of tinting or coloring materials suspended in suitable solvents and'on 'each containerthere is" positioned an accurately adjustable dispensing device 12; For example,

the container 10 may have red paint tinting material;

container lllb mayhave green tinting material and the container 'lllc maythave yellow tinting material. "Varia it 'is preferred to employ 11 of these stations with difierent paint tinting'materialsj therein so that by using accu- V rately' measured amounts of the different tinting materials paints of a wide variety of colors may be compounded when these difierent tinting materials are employedin V accurately measure amounts. with a white "base paint.

They amounts of the 'diiteren't tinting 1 materials to be! addedtoljdefinitc quantities oi; white base paint, for ex j a'mple, a"pint, quar't-,,half gallon or a gallonare charted so that by following-the information givenfon the chartap'erson'r. can; compound anyfffdesired one of a wide range of color's sirnp ly'v byfmeasuring accurate.amountsTrom: v

p the designated ones 'of the 11 color stationsa. t

rately measured volumetricallyand'dispensedihto' a pre-i determined qua'ntitypr quantities of thebasepfaint the dealer may. produce anyone-of 'a' large number of paints ofdiffe'rerit colors without keeping a large inventory of different col'or-paint's in readymi redcondition n h o m r i mpl y de ses a m be m a f init h'e' o era ean of paint coloring material wli h be w Y drawn and accurately; measuredi f -orn t I tairier needed; 'A series-of" containers of coloring terialf'each provided with one .of thesemeas'u'ring dev is employed together with a chart. on whichlfi's" tabulated? the amount offthe' coloring material required pint! I quart,*'h'alf .gallon or gallon isfltalhulatejd 'l 'h is devi cfo'mpr'isesa icylinder and1;p iston arrangement"whic filled with 'thecoloring material andZ'which is prov" 7 a with an adjustableiarrangement toJcontr IQtlie;fd l

Thevolurnetric measuring devices 12 employedlat ofthe-coloring stations are accurately-calibrated Santa; different amounts ofcoloring inatte'r' rangingthree drop' s f to one fluid ounce rj may be provided; 'thefewitl1; example, in compounding.ajcertain color, the oper in the top'of the color container so that a U-shaped wire 13 may be inserted therein and the cover held fast on the container by said wire.

Since all of the measuring. devices 12 are of identical construction, only one of these devices will be illustrated and described in detail. These devices are provided with an outer cylinder 20 as shown in Figure 4, which is preferably made of brass, or similar alloys although it may of course be made of other materials that are not soluble by paint solvents and one such in soluble material is a resin sold under the name of Bakelite. The cylinder 20'is provided with end walls 21 and 22 and it is also provided with an inlet opening 23a positioned on the top thereof near the end Wall 21. The fitting 23 is attached to the cylinder 20 so that the outlet of this fitting is in communication with the inlet 2 3a. An intake pipe 24 which maybe made of copper or suitable plastic material is attached to the fitting 23 and extends into the container so that the inlet of this intake pipe is near the bottom of the container. The intake pipe 24 may be madeof translucent plastic material so that the color of the tinting material fed therethrough from the container into the measuring device may be observed.

The outer cylinder is attached to the channel iron member 25 by means of bolts 26 and 26a which are threaded into the outer cylinder and the bolt 26a which engages the cylinder near the end thereof adjacent to the end wall 22, extends a short distance into the cylinder to act as a stop as will be described hereinafter. An upright member 27 shown in Figures 2 and 3, is also supported on the channel member 25 and the bolt 28 is providedfor fasteningthese members together. The upper end of the upright member 27 is bifurcated for receiving the pinion 32 which is mounted on the shaft 29 that is journaled in the bifurcated portion. A hub 30that'is provided with hand actuating arms 31 is attached to the outer end of the shaft 29 so that this shaft and the pinion 32 may be manually rotated.

The pinion 32 meshes with the rack 33 that extends into the cylinder 20 through the hole formed in the end wall 22 and the rack is attached to the piston 34 by means of the pin 35 as shown in Figure 4. The piston 34 is positioned'in the inner sleeve 37 that is fitted into the outer cylinder 20 and an 0 ring36 is provided for this piston to form a seal between it and the sleeve 37.

The sleeve 37 is provided with an end wall 38 adjacent to the end wall 21 of the outer cylinder. A shaft extends into the end wall 38 and is attached thereto by means of a pin 40 so that when the'shaft 39 is rotated by the hand lever 42 the sleeve 37 is also rotated inside of the outer cylinder 20. Rotation of the sleeve 37 is limited to a half revolution by the stops 37a and 37b that are provided tofthe sleeveas shown in Figure 8,

and which are adapted to be engaged by the screw 26a.

A- suitable O-ring 41'is positioned in a recessformed in the end wall Zlso that this Q-ring forms aseal around the shaft 39; The sleeve 37 is 'provided with an opening.

the outlet opening 44 of the outer sleeve 20 and with the opening 46 in the short sleeve as shown in Figure 6. This position is assumed by the sleeve 37 when the handle 42 points downward and when the stop 37a formed at the other end of the sleeve 37 abuts the inner end of the screw 26a. 7

An O-ring 47 is provided in the opening 46 of the short sleeve 45 to prevent the possibility of air being drawn into the sleeve 37 when this sleeve is in its intake position,'that is when the hole 43 is aligned with the intake hole 23a of the cylinder 20. A metallic ring 48 is provided inside of the O-ring 47 so that the shape of this O-ring, is retained when the sleeve 37 is rotated even though the sleeve. 37 is in frictional contact with this O-ring. Another O-ring 49 is provided around the rotatable sleeve 37 and a suitable recess is formed in this sleeve for receiving this O-ring which is in frictional contact with the short sleeve 45 and prevents liquid coloring material from entering between the sleeve 37 and the cylinder 20.

- All of the O-rings 36, 41, 47 and 49 are made of ma terial such as neoprene, Teflon, Thiokol or similar resilient and slightly elastic materials that are insoluble in the solvents employed-for the colors.

tolerances, substantially air tight connections between these parts is obtained so that the piston 34 may provide the desired suction and pressure when it is operated in the sleeve 37.

The perforated control panel 50 shown in Figure 7 is mounted by means ofsuitable screws 51 and 53 on short upright members 52 and 54, respectively, as shown in The control panel 50 is provided with 160 stop holes that are arranged in rows as shown in Figure 7., These rows of holes are slightly tilted so that the number 9 hole of the first row is displaced longitudinally with respect to the No. 10 hole of the second row. by the same distance as the No. 8 hole of the'first row is displaced from the No. 9 hole of this samerow. Thus all of the holes are longitudinally displaced with respect to the immediately preceding hole by the same distance. This same longitudinal displacement is maintained throughout and enables the operator of this device to divide the ounce of .color- 'ing material in the sleeve 37 into any multiple of 160 since there are 160 holes in the panel. These holes are of a size such that they each snugly receive the bottom end of the pin 57 which when'placed in any hole, projects a small distance below the bottom of the panel as shown in Figure 3. In this way, this bottom end portion-of the 'pin 57 engages the crosspieceSS that is'attached to the sleeve 37 may be. rotated by meansof the handle 42'.

to' its intake position and it assumes. this position when the handle42 is upright. "Whenj the'sleeve 37 is in this intake position, it may be filled. with paint jcoloring ma:

terial by working the-piston 34 back and forth a few position attheright hand end Figure 4.

otthe sleeve, as. shown in Wheniit is desired to, expel a certainivolurne of paint.

coloringmaterial out of thesleeve 37'into a'container of zbase paint, this sleeve is first rotated bymeans eithei sf tlstfi s s 4 I e s m stwith.

are moved inthe, sleeve 37 to the left,. By positioning the pin 57 inthe No.1 hole, motion of the rack and piston is controlled so that only three dropsor part of arr ounce of coloringmaterialisetipelled fromthe rrieasur ing device through the outlet 44Lwhen the control handle 42 is in its downward position. The holes on the panel 50. are staggeredby just the right amountso that as the pin57 -is moved from onehole to the next, the pistonis permitted tofbe. moved an additional distance to expell I 7 an additional. V1607 ounce of, coloring material. Accordingly, asithe pin is moved along the panel to the N o.' l 6 hole, one-ounce of 'oloring'material is expelled from the sleeve, Of course the sleeve 37 "may be. madefgf difi I re or less than oneliquid-ounce of; V

fer'ent sizes so that.

ln terialm xb tnr ditherei i d'es edi x .1.

By employing these O-rings and by machining the movable parts to close the quantity of colorant designated It is desired to keep the-liquid colors in the containers 10, a, 10b and 10c always of a fairly uniform fluid consistency and in cold climates, each of these containers 10, 10a, 10b and 100 may be provided with an electric heater 60 of the emersion type which may be plugged into the conventional 120 v. lighting circuit so that a small amount of heat is generated by the electric current in these emersion heaters for maintaining the colorants of the desired fluidity even in cold climates.

In the operation of this device the handle 42 is first placed in its upper position as shown in Figure 4 and the piston 34 is moved backwards and forwards through its complete stroke two or three times so that any air in the sleeve 37 is replaced by liquid colorant. This is only necessary to first load or prime the measuring device and when it is thus primed the piston is left in its position at the right hand end of the sleeve 37 so that the sleeve is full of fluid colorant of fixed volume. Where this device is employed, as for example, in a paint store, this operation, if performed at the beginning of each day, prohibits any material from settling in the chamber of the sleeve 37 and in this way would prevent the user from expelling any higher pigment percentage because of settling. The inner cylinder or sleeve 37 is then rotated by the handle 42 so that the port 43 thereof is aligned with the outlet of the outer cylinder 20 when it is desired to expel colorant from the device into a suitable container of base paint.

a volumetric measuring device, said device comprising a longitudinally extending cylinder having a pipe connected to one end portion thereof and extending into said container for supplying the liquid colorant to said cylinder, a piston in said cylinder, means for moving said piston to the other end portion of said cylinder for sucking the colorant into said cylinder, said last mentioned means also moving said piston from said other end portion-to expel colorant from said cylinder, and means for controlling the inovement'of said-piston from said other end whereby the colorant expelled from said cylinder is always taken from said cylinder full of colorant, said last mentioned means including adjustable means whereby the colorant is expelled in various quantities differing from each other only 7 by a few drops and ranging from a few drops thereof to substantially the wholecontents of said cylinder, said last mentioned means comprising a plate with a plurality of rows of pin receiving holes formed therein, said rows of holes extending across said plate at angles such that each of the holes in a row is longitudinally displaced from-an adjacent hole by an equal distance and-also such that the last hole of one rowislo ngitudinally displaced fromithe first hole of the next row by the aforesaid same distance,

and a pin adapted to be positioned in any one of said holes for limiting the movement of said pistonso that expelled from said cylinder.

After the colorant is added to the base paint it is properly agitated to insure thorough mixing.

by the hole maybe combination comprising a container forliquid paint 5' W colorant, a' removable cover for said container,- a volu-: metric measuring device mounted on said cover, saiddevicecom'prising a longitudinally extending =cylinder having a pipe connectedthereto and extendinginto said 6 container for supplying liquid colorant to said cylinder a piston in said cylinder for sucking the colorant into said cylinder and expelling said colorant therefrom, a rack and pinion for moving said piston, manually operable means attached to said pinion, and means for determining the amount of the colorant to be expelled from said cylinder, said means comprising a plate with a plurality of rows of pin receiving holes formed therein, said rows of holes extending across said plate at angles such'that each of the holes in a row is longitudinally displaced from an adjacent hole by an equal distance and also such that the last hole of one row is longitudinally displaced from the first hole of the next row by the aforesaid same distance,

and a pin adapted to be positioned in any one of said 7 holes for limiting the movement of said rack and said piston so that the quantity of colorant designated by the hole may be expelled from said cylinder said pin receiving holes in said plate being longitudinally displaced in small steps such that different quantities of said colorant differing from each other only by a few drops may be expelled and these quantities may range from a few drops to substantially the whole contentsof the cylinder.

3. In paint compounding where a base paint is to be tinted with one or more paint colors, the combination as set forth in claim 1 further comprising a hollow rotatable member positioned in said cylinder, s'aid rotatable member having a hole that is adapted to be aligned with the O-ring snugly engaging the inner surface of said O-ring to keep said O-ring from being deformed out of its circular shape because of its frictional engagement with said rotatable member when said rotatable member is rotated. f I

4. In paint compounding where a base paint is to be tinted with one or more paint colors, the combination as set forth in claim 2 further comprising a hollow rotatable member positioned in said cylinder, said rotatable member having a hole that-is adapted to be aligned with the opening of said pipe whereby liquid paint colorant may be sucked into said cylinder through said hole in said rotatable member, said cylinder having a hole through which the liquid paint colorant is adapted to beexpelled when saidhole in said rotatable member is aligned with said hole in said cylinder, and an O-ring positioned around said hole in said cylinder to prevent paint colorant from getting between said rotatable member and said cylinder and a non-deformable ring positioned inside of said O-ring snugly engaging the inner surface of said O-ring. to keep said O-ring from being deformed out of its circular shape because ofits frictional engagement with said rotatablemember when .said rotatable member is' rotated.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,512,060

- Schmucl ger Oct. 12, 1924 1,782,704 Woodruif Nov. 25, 1930 2, 122,148 Lawrence June '28,; 193'8 2,339,908 Brewer et a1. -Ja n.'25, 1944 I 2,554,802 Waas ...e' May 29, 1951 2,716,510 ,Massmann; Aug. 30, 1955; 2,768,581 Lange rnack-- oets'o, 1956 2,824,585 Andres l. Feb 25,1958 

